Never Truly Lost In The Heart
by SharinganAnbuSakura
Summary: The sequel for Recovering Lost Memories. Not even 2 years have passed and Sakura finds herself once again facing a great danger. Not only does this include the return of the infamous Akatsuki and its corrupt leader, but a new formidable foe as well.


**Never Truly Lost In The Heart  
**

**A/N: It has finally arrived…The moment we've all been waiting for, especially myself, the sequel of my most successful fanfiction: ****Recovering Lost Memories****. Believe me when I say I truly have awaited this day for such a long time. The idea of a sequel always seemed so hard to grasp, especially with such an ending…and yet, here we are with hopefully, the next heart-touching part of the series.**

**I would like to thank everyone for their support with the story. I honestly had never expected so many readers and reviewers to love RLM. Some of your reviews brought some emotional break on me since I hadn't even thought how it would affect any of you! And for that, I thank you all. **

**Please…enjoy!!!

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****Prologue:  
**

"Come on, guys. You have to tell me where we're going." Sakura laughed softly as she blindly tripped over another piece of rubble. Two pairs of strong hands kept her from falling, but didn't change the quick pace. For all she knew, the two men escorting her at the moment could possibly walk her off a cliff with how careless they seemed to be.

"You'll have to see for yourself." Naruto murmured with a hint of playful mockery. She could've sworn she heard the smile in his voice, but ignore it. It seemed that in this situation, it was probably better to remain clueless. However, she couldn't help but still be curious.

"Honestly, Naruto, what could possibly be the occasion?" Sakura raised an eyebrow despite the blindfold that covered her eyes. "It's not my birthday or anything of the sort…"

"Why must there be an occasion, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi inquired from her left side.

"There doesn't have to be…I just find this incredibly random." The last of her statement ended in a quiet mutter. It wasn't that Sakura didn't _like _surprises, but she'd rather _prefer _to be one of the ones planning the little 'treat'.

The helpless woman released a soft sigh as she was brought to an abrupt halt. The sound of soft, indistinct whispers surrounded her. Unfortunately, Sakura could not make out any words. For all she knew, she was probably the only one left out of this entire surprise.

Great. Just _great_.

* * *

"Now, Sakura-chan, you must listen very carefully." Kakashi glanced over at Naruto, who wore a lopsided grin as he gave Sakura instructions. The young Hokage could barely contain his excitement, his cerulean shining brightly.

"I'm listening, Naruto. I won't miss a single—"

"Good!" He interrupted her mid-sentence as he patted her shoulder while laughing. "When Kakashi-sensei and I let go of you, I want you to take off the blindfold." Naruto glanced over at Kakashi, giving him a knowing wink.

Kakashi simply nodded, a small smile showing through his navy mask. _He may be Hokage, but Naruto never ceases to amaze me with such excitement and purpose for life. _His smile grew a bit bigger, his steady grip on Sakura loosening a bit. _I still find it hard to believe that not a single burden has weighed him down yet. _

"Alright then, I don't want to be kept waiting too long." Sakura murmured softly, a smile barely gracing her slightly confused expression. She was trying not to sound anxious, but let's face it, she was failing horribly and her teammates' knew it.

Naruto said nothing in response as he allowed one hand to drop. He could feel the anxiety that Sakura was trying to hide, and only could shake his head in amusement. He could always count on the pink-haired kunoichi to make life a bit easier and simple just like when they were mere Genin.

Although Naruto didn't allow anyone to see how it affected him, he felt a bit of grief squeeze his heart at the thought of the Genin days. His smile faded slightly and was thankful that Kakashi was too focused on the task at hand to notice. _Too bad you aren't here to see this...Sasuke. I just wonder if you'd be touched…or angered._

Kakashi stepped away from Sakura, letting both hands to fall back in place. He glanced up, seeing Naruto stalling with a downcast gaze on the ground. The former sensei said nothing, only looking away from the sight. He would not let the past dwell on this task, for today was the beginning of a new future.

* * *

Even when the last hand released her, Sakura hesitated for a short moment. Instead of quickly ending the suspense, she slowly lifted her hands to unwrap the blindfold.

Normally, she might've torn apart the obstacle that was keeping her in the dark. However, a little of the excitement had died away during the whole ordeal. She had felt Naruto's feelings reach her through their connection.

Sakura's urge to sigh was barely resisted. It hadn't even been two years since Sasuke's death and obviously, Naruto wasn't over it. She had expected his grief, but did _not _expect the guilt that consumed her soon afterwards.

Fearing that Naruto and Kakashi would notice her pause, she finished removing the piece of cloth and let it drop onto the ground. Just before she allowed herself to open her eyes, Sakura convinced herself that despite Sasuke's death and Naruto's grief, she would display the most beautiful smile even if troubles burdened her. However, once she opened her eyes to experience the surprise, she found that the smile would pass those standards and for once in the last few minutes, be genuine.

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered softly, unable to comprehend how this brilliance came into place. Moisture filled her eyes, but the tears it held did not fall. "…How?"

Naruto, who had overcome his brief moment of sadness, merely rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. A proud, confident smile shined as he watched her stare in astonishment. "I couldn't just let this place rot away with knowing how beautiful it used to be. Besides, I knew you had always wanted to live her when you were small." He laughed loudly before continuing. "I wasn't going to let you live in that tiny apartment for the rest of your life, Sakura-chan!"

Sakura joined in his laughing, unable to break her gaze with the restored Uchiha Estate. It appeared just as it had before she had lost her memory so long ago. Just as beautiful, just as breathtaking…

She stumbled forward as she moved towards the iron-barred gates, her hand tentatively brushing against cold metal. Her head bowed down as the tears she had held in finally fell onto the ground. Sakura had promised herself that all those memories in the past were going to be replaced by much better ones…and Naruto was aiding her with that goal.

For a brief moment, Sakura silently relished in her joy, unable to say anything for fear the image might disappear. _I do not know how you did this, Naruto…I honestly don't, but I can't be any happier because you did. _

After a few minutes, Sakura finally was able to compose herself once again. The tears had finally come to a halt as she raised her head once again. Turning around to thank her beloved Hokage, she found herself surrounded by most of her closest friends. Ino, Neji, Lee, Shikamaru, Kiba…All of them!

"I couldn't have done it without all of them." Naruto motioned towards the group of the remaining original twelve genin. Each of them gave a smile or made a sound of approval. "I was lucky to get all of them off of a mission for today!"

Sakura could only smile, still at a loss of words. As her gaze drifted over the entire lot of them gathered around the small entrance to the new Uchiha compound, a small faded image seemed to take place between Naruto and Kakashi. Although her smile kept in place in order not to alarm the others, Sakura felt her joy drain away a little.

Sasuke's solemn image watched her through hooded eyes. No trace of anger or corruptness was present in his eyes as it had been before he had died. Only a blankness that was oblivious to the world and everyone else except Sakura.

Barely able to hear Naruto calling her name, Sakura tilted her head slightly to appear as if she was attentive. The haunting image finally seemed to liven as it backed away, fading into nothingness. As it did, she noticed something drop onto the ground without a sound farther down the road.

As she tried to get a closer look, Sakura realized with a soft, inaudible gasp that the item was a small piece of paper. However, to Sakura's horror, this was not just any raggedy piece of paper that could easily be discarded. Unfortunately, before she could really gain a look at the item, Naruto embraced her in a giant bear hug.

"Sakura-chan, if this is too much—" Naruto's words faded away as Sakura mechanically returned the embrace. Her attention was no longer on the group of close friends or the new home, but the tiny slip of paper that was slightly crumbled and beginning to blow away farther down the street, where Sasuke's image had disappeared earlier.

Finally coming to her senses, Sakura broke out of Naruto's embrace and smiled apologetically. "Don't worry about me, Naruto. I'm fine, just a little…" Her mind searched for a word quickly, trying not to seem completely shaken up by Sasuke's appearance. "…Breathless."

Quickly thanking all of her friends with a smile or brief hug, Sakura's gaze still remained on the fading article. "I think I should probably go take a small walk to relieve myself a bit." Without really waiting for anyone's response, she hurried down the street and quickly turned a corner.

Kakashi murmured an agreement, watching her as she disappeared from sight. He could tell something was definitely unsettling his former female teammate and he knew better than to assume it was the restored estate. The transfixed gaze she had displayed may had been faint, but it was still there nonetheless. He wondered…

"Wow, I think we really surprised her!" Ino giggled with excitement, elbowing Shikamaru playfully in the side. The young genius merely smiled in response and nodded. Several murmurs of agreement spread across the gathered group.

"S-Should we wait f-for her to come b-back?" Hinata questioned aloud, her stuttering barely audible.

Kakashi broke his glance from the street and glanced over the rest of the close bunch. Neji raised an eyebrow slightly while Shino turned his head to acknowledge the older shinobi. "Yes…" Kakashi replied calmly, appearing unruffled by Sakura's strange retreat. "I believe we should."

* * *

Keeping a careful watch on the people who passed by her, Sakura tried to appear composed. Her slightly hastened pace had several Konoha citizens glance at her once, but they only ended up shrugging and carrying on with their normal lives. She was incredibly grateful that hardly anyone was on the streets today.

With a heavy, unmovable gaze set on the quickly moving piece of paper, Sakura continued until she reached the very edge of the village's populated area of town. Everything until now had been a blur, but for the first time in about ten minutes, she felt herself compelled to glance away from lost article.

Sakura's mouth opened in shock, a tremor passing through her body with such strength that she had to stumble farther into the well-known territory. Questions filled her mind, but she found herself unable to answer any of them. The only thing she could do now was numbly follow the piece of paper that had brought her this far.

"This is…" Sakura whispered softly, barely able to move her lips. "The burial ground for our most formidable criminals." A chilly wind blew softly against her, causing a chill to run down her spine. The fact that it was mid-July and chilly winds were blowing did not seem like a coincidence to Sakura.

When she was finally able to stop, Sakura's knees wobbled before collapsing under her. Her hands gripped the dirtied grass firmly as she forced herself to keep a scream from escaping. With a jaw clenched tightly, Sakura shakily reached down for the paper that had led her to the very edge of this infamous graveyard.

_Why won't you leave us…Sasuke?_

Her eyes watered again once more, as she fully examined the mysterious paper. However, it wasn't just paper, it was actually a picture of the entire group of the original twelve genin back when all of them had first met. Sakura recognized it, but she knew there was a great difference between the one she knew and the one she held now.

A charred hole resided in the picture, indicating that it had burned at one time for a specific purpose. Her fingers timidly grazed against the blackened shadow around the burn mark. Several of her grief-filled tears fell onto the paper, staining it.

"You won't leave us, will you?" Sakura's hands gripped the paper tightly, the edges crumbling under her hands. "Not unless you have to take someone down with you." Crushing the picture in her hands angrily, Sakura threw it towards the edge of the scattered trees and bushes. As she stood up, she found that even standing up with such a greater burden was becoming more challenging.

Her right hand, which had taken down Sasuke in their last moments together, burned slightly. She didn't make any motion to look at it as she turned away and started towards the village once again. Sakura had a good enough guess that if she looked at her right hand now, it would probably have those old burn marks and scars once again.

To her disgust, the old burn marks would match perfectly with picture. Unfortunately, not only had Sasuke's body been burned out of the picture…but so was hers.

With her bright eyes dimmed slightly by the foreboding feeling that she now had, Sakura tried her best not to smile bitterly at the next thought that grasped her.

_I guess you're going to finally have a visitor after about a year or so, Sasuke…And just in time for your birthday.

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_**A/N: I guess the 'happy-ending' wasn't so happy after all, was it? Sorry that Itachi wasn't in this prologue, but I felt that if it turned out much longer than it would appear to be longer than it really should be! Anyways, we'll be able to see him next chapter. **

**Wow, we're already getting into angst! That's insane! ^_^**

**Who actually thought that Sasuke would completely be forgotten about in this story? If so, this may come as bad news for you, but he's not **_**completely **_**forgotten for now. Luckily, I don't have to worry about keeping our little cold-hearted bastard in-character as much this time around. :)**

**Anyways, please look forward to future chapters and thank you for reading!**

**Until next update,**

**SharinganAnbuSakura**


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